"When the Giants Come to Town..." is my blog intended to chronicle my thoughts on San Francisco Giants baseball. My special interest is in prospects and the farm system, but of course, will comment on all aspects of the San Francisco Giants. I will also comment on baseball in general, particularly from a fantasy baseball perspective. I hope you will find the site informative, and invite you to join in the discussion.

Kept his BA above .300 for most of the season. Season cut short by a facial fracture on a HBP. Found a tweet by David Lee that said no eye or tooth involvement which is good news. Right now, speed and arm are best tools but I think some power will eventually come. Stock- Up.

23. Skyler Ewing, 1B. Low A: .231/.321/.325, 2 HR in 467 AB.

Got off to a horrible start and never really got traction on the season. A big disappointment after a terrific pro debut in S-K. Stock- Down.

Not sure why the Giants moved him to 2B where it seems like the organization is stacked, unless they felt the arm just wasn't there. He continued to hit and hit well, even in AA in his first full pro season. Gotta think there is a bit more power potential in there somewhere, though. Stock- Up.

Started very slow in Augusta before kicking into gear and becoming the hottest hitter in the organization. Struggled again after the promotion to SJ, but hit .297 with 2 dingers in the Cal League playoffs. Both David Lee and Joe Ritzo commented that he gets high marks for his D. Stock- Up.

26. Joan Gregorio, RHP. AA: 3-2, 3.09, 78.2 IP, 32 BB, 72 K.

Finished the season with a 2.28 ERA over his last 10 appearances. Still has one of the highest ceilings of any pitcher in the organization. Stock-Stable.

Hit .269 in his last 10 MLB games before getting hit in the face by a GB while playing 1B for the first time in his career. Very rangy SS with a rocket arm who put up a better UZR/150 than Brandon Crawford in an admittedly small sample size. Stock- Graduated/Stable.

28. Ryder Jones, 3B. High A: .268/.296/.351, 6 HR in 406 AB.

Some people might look at those numbers and say no way is he a prospect. Remember, though, this was his second full pro season after being drafted out of HS. I'm encouraged that he hung in there all season after wilting from the pro grind last year. I saw him twice and he barreled up the ball even when he made outs. Stock-Stable but with some upside. Wouldn't be shocked by a breakout in 2016.

5 comments:

Slater was a HS short-stop and, supposedly, the Top Prep in Florida before he broke his ankle before the baseball season started when he was a HS Senior. As an OF at Stanford he made good contact but didn't show much power (5HR in 429 AB) so he doesn't really fit the corner outfielder paradigm. In CF he doesn't quite have the range.

When I read the Giants moved him to second, I was pretty happy for him as I think that's probably his best bet to have an MLB career. Though the way the Giants are clogged at the position, his best chance to make the MLB roster might be to be traded and make it somewhere else. The Giants have a lot of quality 2B prospects.

I think they will have to find a place for Austin Slater to play. He looks like he was cut from the same mold as Matt Duffy, Joe Panik and Kelby Tomlinson. High BA, gap power, high OBP and low strikeouts. He may never possess the power of a standard corner outfielder, but if he is getting 2 hits a night like the other guys on this list, then that could be the equivalent to the same run production. Hunter Cole is another guy who is similar but it looks like he might have more raw power. I like what the Giants are doing as far as drafting these position players. They definitely have a blueprint and it is sticking at the major league level. Giants seem to graduate 2-3 guys each year to the major league club and they stick. How many other clubs can say that?

I think Slater was tried at second for a few reasons. First, a second baseman who could hit has more value than a corner OF who can't hit for power. Second, at this point, can't hope for more than utility guy, and with the short benches, have to develop guys who can play IF and OF. Third, MI positions get hurt a lot because of the contact still being allowed by MLB, don't hurt to have a lot of spare parts.

I agree that he seems to be cut from the same mode as those players. Cole too, but with power. Barr seems to have the org as well oiled machine, churning out these players like cookie cutter. The farm has been fantastic producing these MI super utility players since Barr joined. Only the Cards seem as adept at doing this.

About Me

I grew up in Northern California near the Napa Valley. I got interested in baseball and the Giants by listening to Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons broadcast Giants games on KSFO. My early heros were Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal and a guy you don't always think of, Jim Ray Hart. When I got older and was in school and early career, I didn't have time to follow as closely, but I tried to look up their boxscores each day and catch an occasional game on TV. One habit I got into at an early age was looking up the stats of their minor league players in The Sporting News. That became more difficult as TSN moved away from comprehensive baseball coverage. Now, of course, technology and affluence has changed all that. The internet is teaming with farm system/minor league information as well as college and high school baseball. Satellite TV enables me to get most of the Giants games on TV. I'm married with 2 wonderful daughters, who like to watch games with me.